


Going Rogue

by sartiebodyshots



Category: Falling Skies
Genre: Episode: s05e05, M/M, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-29
Updated: 2015-07-29
Packaged: 2018-04-11 20:36:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4451480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sartiebodyshots/pseuds/sartiebodyshots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cochise informs Shaq that Hal has been kidnapped.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Going Rogue

As much as it irks Shaq that the humans have not even learned enough of the Volm Standardized Tongue to pronounce their names, it comes in handy as it allows him and Cochise to exchange information in front of them. 

“I have news that you will find unpleasant, but that I believed you would wish to know,” Cochise says, speaking in their native tongue. 

“What?” Shaq replies.

“John Pope has taken Hal, with the intent to murder him,” Cochise says. 

Shaq makes a grunting noise and begins packing his things.  There are not many things to pack, but he will also require food, which is an additional requirement.  “Which human is John Pope?” 

“The human who screams often.  From what I heard, he nearly shot Tom while I was unconscious,” Cochise says.

Shaq hums in order to let Cochise know that he heard and understood.  He returns to his packing.

“What are you doing?” Cochise inquires. 

“I am packing so I can leave as soon as possible,” Shaq says.  “I will retrieve Hal and rendezvous with you at the location the Espheni are jamming.” 

“You cannot go,” Cochise says.  “Tom is already retrieving his offspring.”

“That is not enough,” Shaq says.  “Tom Mason is frail and unstable.  I will retrieve Hal myself.”

“You are experiencing emotions for Hal.  That is acceptable, but you may not act rashly due to them,” Cochise says.

“Be quiet,” Shaq says, heedless of the humans around them.  “I am not having emotions for Hal; retrieving him myself is the prudent course of action.”

“How is this course of action the prudent course of action?” Cochise inquires.

“Losing Hal would cause distress in many of the humans here.  We do not have time for their foolish mourning rituals,” Shaq says, voice raising.  His heart rate is increasing alarmingly fast for no discernable reason.  “If I retrieve him quickly, it will limit the amount of human grief we have to witness.  And so, I will pack and leave now.” 

“Shak-Chic, calm yourself,” Cochise scolds. 

“Do not attempt to dissuade me,” Shaq says. 

“I do not have to attempt to dissuade you.  I am your commanding officer and I am ordering you to stay here,” Cochise says.

Shaq pauses.  Cochise is his commanding officer, so he should stop.  But he cannot.  He must retrieve Hal himself in order to stave off the human mourning rituals. 

He resumes packing his equipment.

“Shak-Chic, what are you doing?” Cochise asks, voice raising.  “I have given you an order.”

“I am not following your order,” Shaq says.

“Shak-Chic, I understand that you have a strong desire to preserve Hal’s life- and I also wish to retrieve both Hal and Tom- but you cannot leave until the rest of the group leaves,” Cochise says.

Cochise reaches out and rests a hand on his arm, but Shaq pushes him away.  It is inappropriate for a superior to make physical contact with their subordinate.

“Do not touch me,” Shaq says.  “You have become too human, and you are unfit to lead this mission or any mission.  You are not Volm, _Cochise_.” He says the name like the disgusting moniker it is.  “You are more human than Volm, and I do not take commands from humans.”

Shaq finishes packing his materials and leaves the camp without looking at Cochise. 

It is easy to track the humans; they are not subtle creatures and have little regard to stealth.  He can hear Tom Mason and John Pope’s incessant yelling from several miles away. 

As much as he finds Tom Mason an irritant and his relationship with Cochise a disgrace, he decides he has to make contact with him first.  They both have the same objective. 

“Tom Mason, what intelligence have you gathered about the situation?” Shaq asks, crouching beside him.

The human jumps, presumably in surprise, and points his gun at Shaq.  “What are you doing here?” he hisses.

“I have come to retrieve Hal from John Pope,” Shaq says.  “Have you gathered any useable intelligence?”

“Shaq, I don’t think you get the situation.  Pope is really unstable, and if you spook him, he might kill Hal,” Tom Mason says.  “He’s already hurt him; I don’t know how badly.  And he’s not alone.  He has a group with him.”

“While I have not killed a human, I do not believe it will be difficult.  Your species is frail.  Remain here so you do not get in the way,” Shaq says.

“Hey, I came here to get my son, and I’m not leaving without him!” Tom Mason exclaims.  Silly, emotional humans.

“I do not require your assistance,” Shaq says. 

“Too bad, we’re going in together,” Tom Mason says.

“No,” Shaq says, standing up.   He can hear Hal yelling in pain in the near distance, and he does not wish to wait.

“You can’t just walk in there!” Tom hisses.  “You’ve gotta wait until dark, when they won’t be able to see as well.”

Shaq does not notice whether or not Hal’s father follows him as he walks towards the camp. 

There are a few people standing on a barricade, so Shaq loops around the camp to come at it from behind.  He can hear Hal’s breathing, strained, from inside one of the buildings.  It is a familiar sound.

There is a door on the side of the building and Shaq attempts to open it.  When he succeeds, he slips inside and follows the sound of John Pope’s yelling and Hal’s strained breathing. 

It is easy to locate them, and Shaq opens the door to discover John Pope smacking Hal.  Feeling a concerning amount of anger, Shaq shoots John Pope twice and walks to Hal’s side, noticing how he is handcuffed to the pole.

“Shaq?” Hal asks, blinking up at him, evidently confused.

“Shak-Chic,” Shaq corrects.  “Do you know how to remove these restraints?”

“He should have a key on him somewhere,” Hal says.

Shaq grunts and begins searching for the body for the key.

“What are you doing here?” Hal asks quietly.

“I have come to retrieve you.  Chichauk informed me of your situation and of Tom Mason’s attempts to rescue you.  I believed that it would be more effective to rescue you myself,” Shaq explains, still searching for the key. 

“Dad’s here?” Hal asks.

“I am uncertain of his location.  He wished to wait for darkness, but I did not,” Shaq says.  He growls, frustrated that he cannot locate the key.  “Please, look away to protect your eyes.  We need to remove ourselves from this location and I do not know where the key is. My weapon should be able to break it.”

Hal nods a little, and Shaq decides to use one of his own hands to cover Hal’s eyes just in case. 

Shaq attempts not to notice how Hal flinches away from his touch or how he jumps at the sound of his gun.  Once Hal is free, Shaq scoops him up.

“What are you doing?” Hal asks.

“Have you sustained a brain injury?  I am rescuing you,” Shaq says as he carries Hal to the door.  “We have already discussed this.”

“My legs are okay.  I can walk,” Hal says.

“I will carry you,” Shaq assures him.  “You have been injured.”

Hal snorts.  “Love you, too.”

“I came to rescue you because if you and your father both perished, it would lead to a great outpouring of human grief.  I would find such a display unpleasant to witness,” Shaq explains, heart returning to its normal rate.

“So you decided to come rescue me because you didn’t want to watch humans get emotional?” Hal asks.

Shaq nods.

“You’re ridiculous, you know that?” Hal asks. 

“Volm are not ridiculous,” Shaq says.  There is screaming at the camp behind him, but no one is following them.

“Yeah you are,” Hal says.  He leans his head against Shaq’s shoulder. 

“I will not argue with you further because you are injured,” Shaq says.

“How far can I push that?” Hal asks. 

“I would not push anything too strenuously in your current condition,” Shaq says.  “What injuries have you sustained?”

“I’m okay.  Thirsty, but okay,” Hal says.

“You have sustained multiple visible wounds,” Shaq says, agitated that Hal would attempt to deceive him.  “You may have other injuries.”

“Your concern is sweet,” Hal says. 

Shaq just growls in frustration.  Hal always insists on calling him sweet.  It is slander.

“It would not be prudent to rescue you and then allow you to die from injuries you have sustained,” Shaq says.  They are a safe distance away from the camp, so Shaq sets Hal down.  “Allow me to examine you.”

“You’re so cute when you get worried,” Hal says.  “Are Matt and Ben okay?”

“I do not believe they are aware that you are missing,” Shaq says.

Hal nods a little.  “That’s probably a good idea.  They’d’ve tried to come with you.”

“I would not have allowed that.  You would not approve,” Shaq says.

“Damn right, I wouldn’t,” Hal says.

“Are your ribs tender?” Shaq asks as he lifts Hal’s shirt up and runs his fingers over them gently.  He does not see any obvious discoloration, but he could still be in pain.

“I’m fine.  We’ve just gotta pick up Dad, and then we can meet up with everyone else,” Hal says.

“He is up ahead,” Shaq says.  He checks the range of motion of Hal’s legs, gently holding his calves.  “Is this causing you pain?”

“A little,” Hal says.

“Then I will continue to carry you,” Shaq says.  “Was your arm wound well taken care of?”

“There’s going to be a nasty scar, but it’s stitched and wrapped,” Hal says. 

Shaq’s chest constricts somewhat as he sees the pain visible on Hal’s face.  He touches his jawline, careful to avoid the discolored skin.  “Something unpleasant happened to you.  It is unfortunate that no one was able to prevent it.”  If he had returned to their quarters sooner, he could have killed John Pope sooner.

“I’ve had worse,” Hal says.  He stares at the sky and sighs.

“Something is troubling you,” Shaq says.

“We’re far enough away that we’re safe, right?” Hal says.

“Yes, and I will hear anyone who approaches us,” Shaq says.

“Can we just lay here for a second?” Hal asks.  “Will you lay here with me for a second?”

Shaq pauses for a second and then stretches out beside Hal.  “I do not wish to accidentally cause you further injury.”

“A little pain is alright,” Hal says, pushing himself a little closer to Shaq, so Shaq wraps his arms his arms around him loosely, as he knows Hal likes.  “I always hate dealing with people after something like this happens.  It sounds terrible, I know, because I’m so lucky to have so many people who care deeply about me.  But everyone always looks at you weird for a while, like they’re worried you’re gonna break.” 

“I have often found your human concern for each other irksome,” Shaq says.  “People become injured during war, and war is all there is.  There is no point in expressing so much emotion about it.”

Hal laughs a little.  “You came all this way to rescue me, you’re lying here next to me, and you’re still making fun of humans for caring about each other.”

“This is different,” Shaq says.  “I will not look at you like that.  I am certain you will not ‘break.’  You are strong, for a human.”

“Yeah, I know.  That’s why I want to lay here with you for a little bit,” Hal says.  “I want to let everyone know I’m okay; I know Dad has to be going crazy.  But once you know I’m fine, you don’t worry as much.  Or, you do, but you’re crap at saying it.  You do it in a way less weird way.  I appreciate that, so I want to be here with just you for a minute.”

“If you wish, we can lay here for longer.  We can refrain from returning to your people until your physical wounds heal,” Shaq says.

Hal tilts his head to look at him.  “Are you asking me to run away with you?”

“For a time.  If it would make your recovery easier,” Shaq says.  “I would not have to encounter as many humans, which I would like.”

“And your duties to Cochise?” Hal asks, raising an eyebrow.  “Isn’t he in charge of you?”

“I disrespected him and informed him that I did not take orders from him,” Shaq says.

“Woah…” Hal says.  “When was this?”

“When I decided to retrieve you over his orders,” Shaq says.  “He wished to allow Tom Mason to carry out his plan alone.”

“So you argued with Cochise over rescuing me?” Hal asks.  “You really do love me.”

“You are injured, so I will not engage in an argument with you,” Shaq says. 

“I love you, too.”  Hal says quietly.  “I wish we could run away sometimes.  Just grab Matt and Ben and run.”

“They are acceptable humans,” Shaq says.  “It would not be altogether unpleasant to live with the three of you.”

Hal hums contentedly.  “We’ve gotta get going before Dad has a heart attack.”

“Are you certain that you wish to leave?” Shaq asks.  He would like to consider the possibilities of obtaining Hal’s siblings and leaving the other humans behind.  Cochise is not a competent commander, so it does not feel like as much of a betrayal. 

“Maybe in a minute,” Hal says.


End file.
